Introduction

Currently, the most important international declaration concerning the effectiveness of development aid is the Paris Declaration (2005). The declaration presents several principles of aid effectiveness, a framework for mutual responsibility, and names several indicators used when evaluating improvement. Below, we will try to examine two projects through the prism of crucial elements of Aid Effectiveness (AE) which were put together by the Paris Declaration. The study tries to contextualize generally formulated AE policies in specific cases of

Simulated Exercise: Typhoon Disaster Scenario

"In the early morning of 27 August 2008, Typhoon "X" with a velocity of 140 km/hour landed at Muang District, Rayong, an industrial and coastal province in Thailand. The typhoon caused heavy damage to houses, public buildings and facilities, cargo ships and fishing boats. It also damaged electricity poles, triggering a power shortage in the province. Moreover, it caused two chemical gas tanks and pipe racks in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate to explode, resulting in

JAKARTA, 12 March 2008 (IRIN) - The Indonesian province of West Sumatra has experienced several earthquakes over the past fortnight since a 7.3 quake on 25 February sparked a tsunami alert, stirring up fears that another massive quake might strike this seismically active region.

The almost daily quakes have centered on Padang, West Sumatra's capital, and the Mentawai islands off the coast. Some scientists fear another devastating disaster such as in December 2004, in which more than 230,000 people across Asia were killed.

But scientists are divided over when

Each week, the World Health Organization Health Action in Crises in Geneva produces information highlights on critical health-related activities in countries where there are humanitarian crises. Drawing on the various WHO programmes, contributions cover activities from field and country offices and the support provided by WHO regional offices and headquarters. The mandate of the WHO departments specifically concerned with Emergency and Humanitarian Action in Crises is to increase the effectiveness of the WHO contribution to crisis preparedness and response, transition

21 February 2008

By Vina Agustina on Nias Island and Matthew Cochrane in Geneva, International Federation

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) is on high alert following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake off the eastern coast of Indonesia's Aceh province that claimed at least three lives and injured dozens more.

The quake was most keenly felt on the island of Simeulue. Ibnu Abbas, the deputy head of PMI's Simeulue branch office says that 26 people in the town of Simelue Utara and 25 people in Simuelue Barat were injured as they rushed to safety.

'Some people were injured as when they